Destiny
by FantasyCrest
Summary: The moment has come. The champions have come to cast out the darkness plaguing Remnant and after confronting the corrupted fall maiden a tired knight reflects on what is, what could be, and what is to come in his final moments. One shot. Disclaimer inside. Reviews welcome.


**Alright so the day before Vol. 4 premieres I post this. This is a brief one shot I've had in mind for a while. You see a while back I saw this poem or quote thing used on Tumblr a while back for a piece for another fandom that I found rather memorable. Then I wondered what might happen if Jaune and Cinder faced off and what would happen in the aftermath and well this came together. There probably won't be a follow up for this as I really did picture this as a standalone. I hope you like this. I do not own anything used to make this. Reviews welcome.**

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Destiny

A RWBY One Shot

Jaune made a clean cut disrupting the fireball that had been thrown at him. Weary blue eyes looked upon Cinder who stared at him with an ever patronizing smirk on her face as she hovered. Her eyes were consumed in flames powered by a magic that was by no right hers.

Jaune took comfort in the fact that Ruby and Weiss were further up ahead on these grounds resembling a palace from times long forgotten. These were a land lost to the dark in more ways than one. Pink smoke, purple stone, and crystal made up the foundation obscuring Remnant's sky.

It was a perfect fit for its master; Salem, the one pulling Cinder's strings and the one who had started all this. Ruby and Weiss could take her. He knew it. The power of a silver eyed warrior and the winter maiden would end this. The thought made Jaune smirk.

Cinder looked at him with a questioning look on her face, "Just what are you smiling about, my dear?"

"Oh," Jaune's smirk grew a little wider, "I'm just thinking how sweet it will be when you and your boss' schemes go down in flames."

Cinder frowned briefly before she smiled again. "I doubt they will, but if you want to know what it feels like you can ask Ozpin."

Jaune frowned. That's right they never did find Ozpin.

The time for talking and thinking was over as Cinder sent flames through the air. It became a battle of movement, swipes, rolls, and dodges. After one particularly strong fireball, which Jaune's shield took the brunt of sending him to his knees, Cinder floated before him a curious look on her face.

The whole fight Jaune's form had been glowing with his aura; in yet, it hadn't done much beyond normal shielding.

Cinder stared at the knight scoffing, "Where's the remainder of your team?"

Jaune laughed, "They're dealing with Emerald and Mercury. Oops-I mean slave one and slave two."

Cinder frowned at the way Jaune talked about her allies. "They're more than capable of handling those two."

He laughed again, "I doubt it. Emerald's mind games won't work very well with Nora."

Cinder dismissed his concerns waving her hand, "I say otherwise. I know destiny is on our side."

Jaune's voice went low and a little hollow, "You believe in that stuff?"

"I do," Cinder answered with a smirk. "So did your beloved Pyrrha. She asked me right before I turned her into ashes."

Jaune scowled feeling anger fuel his veins. Cinder took that moment to strike as she made the ground erupt under him. The blow laid him flat out on his back. He stared dully up at Cinder as she stood above him. She carried on saying, "All this is fate, your sneaking into Beacon trying to become something you're not, her rise and fall, and now your fall? All this is destiny. Don't you agree?"

Jaune just stared at her, his form still glowing. "Yes and no."

Before Cinder could even begin to ponder on what that meant, Jaune struck. She couldn't have known that Jaune's Semblance allowed him to endure the times and trials of life carrying on when a lesser persons' aura, Semblance, magic, and whatnot would have fallen. That Semblance had carried him to his goal now.

With one strike Cinder was down, for good now. Never mind her magic, never mind her aura, she was dead. Jaune watched in triumph as her body went down as an orange sphere of light rose from it and then, shot off towards the only patch of a visible starry sky.

With no chance for Cinder to think the power would find a worthy candidate, someone who deserved to be the fall maiden.

Jaune's form stopped glowing as he fell backward onto the ground, his sword falling from lax fingers. He could barely move, barely breathe, but he was capable of thought still. _Yeah, Destiny and Fate are real, but I choose to believe we'd do what we would choose to do anyway. I didn't have to come Beacon, but I did anyway. I accepted your help and, though I didn't know it, I fell in love with you. Even if I landed on my butt most of the time…_ He smiled even with soot and blood on his face.

 _Still, I carried on going to this point and I know that in this world and any other I would find you,_ Jaune closed his eyes for a moment letting a variety of images pass through his mind.

 _A blonde boy and a red haired boy sitting on some swings staring shyly at each other._

 _A red haired girl strumming a guitar while a blond girl watches in the audience in awe._

 _A red haired boy watching a blonde servant girl cleaning up in a mansion._

 _And finally in another time and place, in another Remnant, a very familiar Huntsmen and Huntress returned home after a mission to a house filled with children happily waiting for them._

 _Yeah,_ Jaune thought to himself. _In a hundred lifetimes… In a hundred worlds… I'd repeat my path to different endings with you. I'd find you and I'd pick you always._

Jaune opened his eyes one final time aware of several things. A cloud of rose scented snow exploding into the air some distance away. Nora and Ren calling for him, two more voices calling, and Jaune thought wearily with that smile, _Yang… Blake… I'm glad you both have risen up and here. Together._

Two more voices added to theirs making Jaune gave a slightly strained smile. _Sun. Neptune. I'm glad you're here too. I'm sure Weiss will be happy to have you here too, even if you don't deserve her._

Jaune felt so exhausted that he couldn't speak. His eyes closed one final time making the world fall away. His pain was gone and all he knew was the warm void around him. From within the void a voice spoke to him. "Hello Jaune."

Then a pair of lips touched his as Jaune breathed, "Pyrrha…"

Destined loves reunited.


End file.
